There is a shortage of nurses leading to challenges in recruitment in Sweden and many other countries. Especially for less populated regions recruitment can be chal-lenging. Nurses often face difficulties with work-life balance (WLB). This study aims to identify the importance of WLB opportunities and support that make a work-place attractive from the perspective of nursing students studying in Dalarna. A questionnaire was distributed via email to 525 students enrolled in the nursing bach-elor program at Dalarna University. They were asked to rate the importance of 15 sub questions regarding WLB opportunities and support. These sub questions were asked in order to analyze the importance of 15 components regarding WLB oppor-tunities and support. 196 students (37 percent) answered the questionnaire. Three WLB components, working from home, childcare and rooms for breastfeeding, were found to be not important to nursing students studying in Dalarna. This was reason-able due to the profession of nursing and the WLB support provided by the Swedish government. Cultural factors, such as the organization being positive towards using WLB opportunities and support, were more important than structural factors, such as the possibility to work part-time. Moreover, to have a manager that is supportive towards using WLB opportunities and support was found to be the most important factor and having workplace practical support such as childcare was found least im-portant. Furthermore, contrary to the expected results, no statistical significance was found on the influence on the importance of all combined relevant WLB opportuni-ties and support by the sociodemographic variables; gender, semester of studies, age, having children, months of work experience and work experience in the healthcare sector. However, nine individual components were found to be influ-enced by one or more sociodemographic variables. Therefore, some recommenda-tions on how to target specific groups of individuals were made. However, the con-clusion of the study is that, regardless of the sociodemographic variables and gov-ernmental support, organizations should offer new nurses opportunities and support to gain a balance between work and life, especially in terms of cultural factors.

UNIVERZITA KARLOVA V PRAZE FILOZOFICKÁ FAKULTA KATEDRAANDRAGOGIKY A PERSONÁLNÍHO ŘÍZENÍ Bc. Markéta Dufková Ovlivňování kvality pracovního života rozvojovými aktivitami (Influence of development activities on quality of work life) DIPLOMOVÁ PRÁCE Praha 2013 Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Jan Gruber, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This work focuses on comparison of theoretical approaches to the quality of work life with practical approaches in international companies. At the same time, emphasis is placed on staff development, which includes education. The basis of this work is the analysis of approaches to quality of life or more precisely the quality of working life. Theoretical dimensions of quality of working life are a synthesis applied to a practical measurement tool used in the studied Corporation. Nowadays, the employee is valuable and essential element of organizational life. Orientation on cutomer and focus on employee requires a thorough knowledge of motivation patterns and human needs. Improving the quality of working life can affect not only the work performance of the employee, but also its satisfaction with the work. A secondary effect is a reduction in fluctuation. Quality of working life can be affected by a large number of ways, in this work, however, attention is focused on the effect of staff development on the...

This exploratory study examines the relationship between the work-life balance and organisational culture of medical doctors and nurses in Nigeria. There has been an overwhelming majority of work-life balance studies undertaken in Western countries. This leaves Africa, most notably Nigeria, an understudied area of investigations. In order to achieve this objective, this study applies a qualitative research method. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were carried out with 62 medical doctors and 29 nurses across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Drawing on the data collected, this thesis makes two important contributions to this field of research. Empirically, the study enhances the work-life balance database most especially in the specific context of Nigeria, by revealing that the traditional culture of Nigerian health organisations has an enormous influence on the employees’ abilities to use work-life balance policies and practices. In other words, there is an overarching relationship between organisational culture and the use of work-life balance policies and practices by doctors and nurses in the Nigerian health sector. The findings also reveal that Nigerian doctors and nurses struggle to cope with the demanding nature of their jobs and their aspirations to fulfil their non-work responsibilities. Theoretically, the study identifies an important shift in the construct and application of border theory. Border theory explains how employees negotiate their daily movements across work and family domains, but fails to recognise that family is by no means the only non-work duty that is important to employees. Also, border theory does not deal with factors that determine employees’ movements across the border. These shortcomings are alarming, especially now that Generation X employees (workers born after 1963) prefer work arrangements that also cater for their non-work duties and responsibilities. Following these shortcomings, and with the data collected, a work-life border control model was developed. Practically, the developed model (work-life border control model) extends work-life border theory by incorporating other non- ii working live activities including familial duties and outlines factors that determine employees’ movement across the border. Also, the findings of this study provide a valuable insight into the reality of work-life balance practices in Nigeria. This study thus provides an important and timely understanding about the working and non-working lives of Nigerian doctors and nurses and provides feasible and practicable recommendations for the relevant authorities.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Technology: Commercial Administration, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2012. / Stress management is becoming more and more important as workloads increase. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2005:1-22) estimates that there will be a gradual rise in the number of people experiencing mental health difficulties in the workplace by the year 2020. Current trends indicate an emphasis on the employer's responsibility to provide services that meet their employees' mental health (WHO, 2005:1-22). International organizations such as the European Union and the World Health Organizations have thus been making recommendations about the measures that employers need to take to tackle workplace stress and promote employee wellbeing. Research indicates that employee wellbeing is determined both by an individual's personality and the context of the work situation. Employers can have a huge impact on employee wellbeing, by creating appropriate work demands, support and levels of control, effective communication and engagement, supportive leadership and management and by promoting activities that improve health and wellbeing. This research attempted to better understand the happy/productive worker thesis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of job satisfaction on the wellbeing of administrative staff at the Durban University of Technology (OUT). A mixed methods approach was used to collect data in the form of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from administrative staff on the six campuses of DUT. Analysis of results indicated that: job satisfaction significantly impacts on the wellbeing of employees; staff were unhappy with their work conditions and this subsequently led to physiological symptoms of stress and which in turn negatively impacted on the their health; and were experiencing many symptoms of burnout. Further investigation is needed to fully understand the predictors of burnout, i.e. the organizational and individual factors that impact burnout so that appropriate interventions may be put into place to increase employee wellbeing. / M

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Twenty-first century organisations have become more conscious of implementing work-life balance practices due to the fusion of females into the labour market, the existence of double career couples with children and equality gender. Several studies around work-life balance has been embarked upon, however, the perception of female traffic officers within the South African environment has not yet been explored. The present study seeks to understand and provide female traffic inspectors with better insights about how they are currently experiencing work and home life through self-awareness. A phenomenological approach based on a research design of inquiry was used to engage with female traffic inspectors and to obtain their experience, as well as its impact. The sample used for this study consisted of six female traffic inspectors from the Western Cape Government, Department of Transport and Public Works: Metro Region. The current research used one research instrument namely in-depth interview to address the research question using semi-structured, audio-taped interviews. Recurring themes that emerged from the study indicate that female traffic inspectors’ experience of work-life balance challenges involved job stress, work support, organisational culture and the work environment. These challenges have impacted on their work life and family life which gave rise to inter-role conflict, work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict, which negatively impacted on their attitude in attempting to adapt to their work environment. It became evident that most of the participants were finding it difficult to balance work and family as they realise that “something had to give”.

Abstract   Title: How parental leave policies influence employee engagement   Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration   Author: Patrick Hammer and Rickard Palmgren   Supervisor: Tomas Källquist and Pär Vilhelmsson   Date: 2019 – June     Aim: Several studies have found that perceived flexibility and the ability to manage the demands of work and personal life are related to higher levels of employee engagement and expected retention. However, little research have been done to explore the relationship between parental leave (a component of work-life balance) and employee engagement and retention. The aim of this study is to increase the understanding about how parental leave influence employee engagement, and subsequent employee retention.   Method: This study is based on a social constructive and hermeneutic perspective. Empirical data was collected through 18 semi-structured interviews with employees in Sweden and the United States. The findings were compared to previous research with an abductive approach. Theoretical and empirical findings were combined and resulted in a new model based on the aim of this study.   Result & Conclusions: Our model illustrates how parental leave influence employee engagement and retention from an employee perspective. Parental leave was found to influence employee engagement and retention in four main ways (themes), which are relationship with manager, salary and career opportunities, alignment of values, and well-being.   Contribution of the thesis: From a theoretical perspective, the model we developed is useful as it highlights how employee engagement is influenced by parental leave policies. From a practical perspective, this model can be used by managers and leaders in organizations worldwide that are looking to understand drivers of employee engagement and how to increase employee retention.   Suggestions for future research: Further research is needed to test this model in different contexts to confirm its accuracy. For future research, this model can be tested from the manager or management perspective, which could identify new components that can be added to the model.   Key words: Parental leave, employee engagement, employee retention, work-life balance, family friendly policies

Thesis advisor: Maureen E. Kenny / Work can be a very satisfying experience; for many people, work defines a large piece of their identity. Yet work sometimes intrudes into other aspects of our lives in ways that are problematic. Work-family conflict results when the needs of the family and the needs of the workplace cannot both be met, because the time and effort required by one of these roles makes it difficult to fulfill the other. When it is present in people's lives, work-family conflict can have negative effects on physical and psychological health and the overall quality of life. Certain personality characteristics and learned skills can mediate or exacerbate the effects of work-family conflict. A family systems perspective aids in understanding the many ways in which work-family conflict can affect and can be affected by different subsystems and family members. Finally, the employer has a role in mediating work-family conflict by creating formal programs and fostering an organizational culture that help people to reduce or eliminate work-family conflict in their lives. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2004. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Education, Lynch School of. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Vi har valt att göra en studie om hur egenföretagare och entreprenörer kombinerar sitt arbetsliv med privatliv. De teorier som vi har valt att använda är främst kopplade till work-life balance begreppet och den realistiska livsformsanalysen.   Vårt syfte är att utreda entreprenörer och egenföretagares synsätt på deras work-life balance med hjälp av livsformsanalysen. Syftet är även att ta reda på huruvida balansen alternativt obalansen mellan arbetslivet och privatlivet påverkar dem. I vår studie har vi tre frågeställningar: “Hur upplever egenföretagare och entreprenörer balansen mellan arbetsliv och privatliv med ett livsformsperspektiv i beaktning?”, “Hur påverkas egenföretagare och entreprenörer av de krav som ställs respektive den kontroll de har?” samt “Huruvida en hög arbetsbelastning är eller inte är en stressfaktor som leder till en obalans mellan arbetsliv och privatliv”

Syftet med denna uppsats är att öka förståelsen för hur chefer upplever att de kombinerar arbetslivet och privatlivet. Jag vill lyfta fram de faktorer som påverkar cheferna i deras förhållningssätt men även vilken funktion som arbetsplatserna har. Därefter redovisas skillnaderna som visas bland män och kvinnor när de kombinerar arbetslivet och privatlivet. För att kunna besvara studiens syfte och dess frågeställningar läste jag först på om ämnet Work-Life Balance och valde därefter relevanta teorier. Bland dessa teorier redogörs för Work-Life Balance och dess konflikter som kan uppstå. Andra teorier är bland annat organisationens påverkan, flexibilitet och tillgänglighet. Studien bygger på ett kvalitativt förhållningssätt där datainsamlingen utfördes med hjälp av 7 intervjupersoner. Därefter transkriberades samtliga intervjuer för att sedan kunna kodas. Kodningen utformades i concepts och kategorier som kopplades till den teoretiska referensramen. Därefter började analysarbetet där det uppkom flera faktorer som påverkar chefernas balans mellan arbetslivet och det övriga livet. Det fanns även skillnader mellan könen, som visades vid tillgängligheten och den psykiska ohälsan. Slutligen visade resultaten att arbetsplatsen i stor utsträckning påverkar chefernas Work-Life Balance, både positivt och negativt. Resultaten visar även att arbetslivet är den sfären som för cheferna tar över och som påverkar det övriga livet. Det övriga livet är den sfär som upplevs som minst kravfyllt och är den plats där cheferna kan återhämta sig.

Den senaste tidens stora uppmärksamhet gällande ökningen av utmattningssyndrom genererar i diskussioner kring hur man får livspusslet att gå ihop. I takt med ökade folksjukdomar så ökar även individens ansvar för sin egen hälsa vilket medför att friskvårdsbranschen blomstrar. Friskvårdsbranschen är idag en av Sveriges starkast växande branscher där föreliggande studie menar att det behövs mer arbetslivsforskning inom branschen och framförallt av yrket personlig tränare. I takt med den ökning som skett av yrket och med grund i den ökade folksjukdomen, utmattningssyndrom, ligger således studiens fokus på work life balance. Syftet med denna studie är att skapa en fördjupad förståelse för hur personliga tränare upplever sitt arbete samt deras erfarenheter av relationen mellan arbete och övrigt liv. Från syftet har frågeställningar rörande tränarnas inställning till sitt arbete formulerats samt vilka typer av relationer personliga tränare har till sina klienter. Studien syftar även till att besvara hur balansen mellan arbetslivet och privatlivet ser ut. Föreliggande studie är en kvalitativ studie där sju personer som arbetar som personliga tränare har intervjuats med frågor berörande ämnet. Respondenternas erfarenheter och upplevelser är den empiriska data som studiens resultat baseras på. Empirin har analyserats och kopplats samman med den teoretiska referensramen i syfte att förklara studiens resultat. Den teoretiska referensramen syftar till att ge en redogörelse för väsentliga teorier och tidigare forskning kring det berörda forskningsområdet. Resultatet visar att de flesta inte upplever balans i tillvaron. Resultatet visar att det är krav från arbetet som påverkar tillfredsställelsen i övriga livet och inte tvärtom. Resultatet visar att flexibilitet och tillgänglighet påverkar balansen i största grad. Resultatet visar att ramar och gränser till arbetet skapar möjlighet till balans. Resultatet belyser att de personliga tränarna skapar nära relationer till sina klienter. Resultatet visar även att de personliga tränarna anser att de arbetar med sin hobby, där dominerande inställningen är ett passionerat förhållningsätt till arbetet. De personliga tränarna anser sig själva arbeta med att göra skillnad för människor samt hjälpa andra. Samtliga respondenter älskar friheten arbetet ger det vill säga att själv kunna styra över sin egen tid. Personliga tränare värderar friheten med att kunna välja arbetsplats samt arbetstider. De personliga tränarna värderar den självständighet och flexibilitet som arbetet genererar.